by the Administrator or Deputy Administrator or the Division Director responsible for the function involved.

(f) Prior delegations. All prior delegations and redelegations of authority relating to any function or activity covered by these delegations of authority shall remain in effect except as they are inconsistent herewith or are hereafter amended or revoked. Nothing herein shall affect the validity of any action heretofore taken under prior delegations or redelegations of authority or assignment of functions.

(g) Reservations of authority. It is hereby reserved to the Administrator and Deputy Administrator authority with respect to proposed rulemaking and final action for the issuance of regulations (§201.1 of this chapter et seq.), rules of practice governing proceedings (§ 202.1 of this chapter et seq.), and statements of general policy (§ 203.1 of this chapter et seq.), and the issuance of moving papers as prescribed in the rules of practice governing formal adjudicatory administrative proceedings instituted by the Secretary (7 CFR part 1, subpart H, §1.133); and the authority to make final determinations in accordance with the provisions of 7 CFR part 1, subpart A, as to the availability of official records and information made or obtained in connection with the administration of the Packers and Stockyards Act which are considered exempt from disclosure under §204.7 of this part. Further, authority to issue subpoenas (7 U.S.C. 222 and 15 U.S.C. 49) is reserved to the Administrator and Deputy Administrator.

$204.4 Public inspection and copying.

(a) Facilities for public inspection and copying of the indexes and materials required to be made available under 7 CFR 1.2(a) will be provided by the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (Packers and Stockyards Programs) during normal hours of operation. Requests for this information should be made to the Freedom of Information Act Officer, Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (Packers and Stockyards Programs, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250.

(b) Copies of such materials may be obtained in person or by mail. Applicable fees for copies will be charged in accordance with the regulations prescribed by the Director of Information, Office of Governmental and Public Affairs, USDA.

§ 204.5 Indexes.

Pursuant to the regulations in 7 CFR 1.4(b), the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (Packers and Stockyards Programs) will maintain and make available for public inspection and copying current indexes of all material required to be made available in 7 CFR 1.2(a). Notice is hereby given that publication of these indexes is unnecessary and impractical, since the material is voluminous and does not change often enough to justify the expense of publication.

§ 204.6 Requests for records.

(a) Requests for records under 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(3) shall be made in accordance with 7 CFR 1.3(a). Authority to make determinations regarding initial requests in accordance with 7 CFR 1.4(c) is delegated to the Freedom of Information Act Officer of the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (Packers and Stockyards Programs). Requests should be submitted to the FOIA Officer at the following address: Freedom of Information Act Officer (FOIA Request), Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (Packers and Stockyards Programs), United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250.

(b) The request shall identify each record with reasonable specificity as prescribed in 7 CFR 1.3.

(c) The FOIA Officer is authorized to receive requests and to exercise the authority to (1) make determination to grant requests or deny initial requests; (2) extend the administrative deadline; (3) make discretionary release of exempt records; and (4) make determinations regarding charges pursuant to the fee schedule.

§ 204.7 Appeals.

Any person whose request under § 204.6 of this part is denied shall have

DEFINITIONS

§ 205.1 Definitions.

Terms defined in section 1324 of the Food Security Act of 1985, Pub. L. 99198, 99 Stat. 1535, 7 U.S.C. 1631, shall mean the same in this part as therein. In addition, except as otherwise specified, as used in this part:

(a) The Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States;

(b) The Section means section 1324 of the above-cited Act, and "subsection" means a subsection of that Section;

(c) System means central filing system as defined in subsection (c)(2);

(d) EFS means effective financing statement as defined in subsection (c)(4); (e) System operator means Secretary of State or other person designated by a State to operate a system;

(f) Registrant means any buyer of farm products, commission merchant, or selling agent, as referred-to in the Section, registered with a system under subsection (c)(2)(D);

(g) Master list means the accumulation of data in paper, electronic, or other form, described in subsection (c)(2)(C);

(h) Portion means portion of the master list distributed to registrants under subsection (c)(2)(E);

(i) UCC or Uniform Commercial Code means the Uniform Commercial Code prepared under the joint sponsorship of the American Law Institute and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, and in effect in most States of the United States at the time of enactment of Pub. L. 99-198.

(2) Identify the information which will be required to be supplied on an EFS;

(3) Identify where an EFS, amendment thereto, or continuation thereof, will be filed and, if elsewhere than with the system operator, explain how and in what form the system operator will receive information needed to compile and update the master list;

(4) Explain the method for recording the date and hour of filing of an EFS, amendment thereto, or continuation thereof;

(5) Explain how the master list will be compiled, including the method and form of storage and arrangement of information, explain the method and form of retrieval of information from the master list, the method and form of distribution of portions of the master list to registrants as required by subsection (c)(2)(E), and the method and form of furnishing of information orally with written confirmation as required by subsection (c)(2)(F) (details of computer hardware and software need not be furnished but the results it will produce must be explained);

(6) Explain how the list of registrants will be compiled, including identification of where and how they will register, what information they must supply in connection with registration, and the method and form of storage and retrieval of such information (details of computer hardware and software need not be furnished but the results it will produce must be explained);

(7) Show how frequently portions of the master list will be distributed regularly to registrants;

(8) Show the farm products according to which the master list will be organized;

(9) Show how the system will interpret the term "crop year" and how it will classify as to crop year an EFS not showing crop year;

(10) Show what fee will be charged and explain how the costs of the system will be covered if not by such fee and the general revenue of the State; and

(11) Include copies of:

(i) All State legislation or other legal authority under which the system is

created and operated, and the system operator is designated;

(ii) All regulations, rules and requirements issued under such legislation or other legal authority and governing operation of the system, designation of the system operator, and use of the system by members of the public; and

(iii) All printed and electronic forms required to be used in connection with the system.

(c) Any such request and attachments must be filed in triplicate (one copy for public inspection, a second copy for use in GIPSA, and a third copy for use in the Office of the General Counsel, USDA). All three copies must be received in the headquarters of the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration Packers and Stockyards Programs), USDA, Washington, DC 20250.

(d) A refusal to certify such a system, if any, will be explained in writing. Reconsideration of such a refusal must be requested in writing with specification of errors believed to have been made.

(e) To make changes to an existing certified central filing system, including changes necessitated or made possible by amendments to the Act, a written request to amend the existing certified central filing system must be filed together with such documents as are necessary to show that the system complies with the Act. The request must contain relevant new information consistent with the requirements specified elsewhere in this section.

[51 FR 29451, Aug. 18, 1986, as amended at 61 FR 54728, Oct. 22, 1996]

§ 205.102 Name of person subjecting a farm product to a security interest, on EFS and master list-format. On an EFS, and on a master list, the name of the person subjecting a farm product to a security interest must appear as follows:

(a) In the case of a natural person, the surname (last name or family name) must appear first;

(b) In the case of a corporation or other entity not a natural person, the name must appear beginning with the first word or character not an article or punctuation mark.

§ 205.103 EFS-minimum information. (a) The minimum information necessary on an EFS is as follows:

(1) Crop year unless every crop of the farm product in question, for the duration of the EFS, is to be subject to the particular security interest;

(2) Farm product name (see §§ 205.106, 205.206);

(3) Each county or parish in the same State where the farm product is produced or to be produced;

(4) Name and address of each person subjecting the farm product to the security interest, whether or not a debtor (see § 205.102);

(5) Social security number or, if other than a natural person, IRS taxpayer identification number, of each such person;

(6) Further details of the farm product subject to the security interest if needed to distinguish it from other such product owned by the same person or persons but not subject to the particular security interest (see $205.207); and

(7) Secured party name and address. (b) A requirement of additional information on an EFS is discretionary with the State.

(c) Whether to permit one EFS to reflect multiple products, or products in multiple counties, is discretionary with the State.

§ 205.104 Registration of buyer, commission merchant, or selling agent-minimum information.

(a) The minimum information necessary on a registration of a buyer, commission merchant, or selling agent is as follows:

(1) Buyer, commission merchant, or selling agent name and address;

(2) Farm product or products (see §§ 205.106, 205.206) in which registrant is interested; and

(3) If registrant is interested only in such product or products produced in a certain county or parish, or certain counties or parishes, in the same State, the name of each such county or parish.

(b) A registrant, if not registered for any specified county or parish, or counties or parishes, must be deemed to

have registered for all counties and parishes shown on the master list.

(c) A requirement of additional information on a registration form is discretionary with the State.

§ 205.105 Master list and portion thereof distributed to registrants-format.

(a) The master list must contain all the information on all the EFS's filed in the system, so arranged that it is possible to deliver to any registrant all such information relating to any product, produced in any county or parish (or all counties or parishes), for any crop year, covered by the system. The system must be able to deliver all such information to any registrant, either in alphabetical order by the word appearing first in the name of each person subjecting a product to a security interest (see § 205.102), in numerical order by social security number (or, if other than a natural person, IRS taxpayer identification number) of each such person, or in both alphabetical and numerical orders, as requested by the registrant.

(b) Section (c)(2)(E) requires the portion to be distributed in "written or printed form." This means recording on paper by any technology in a form that can be read by humans without special equipment. The system may, however, honor requests from registrants to substitute recordings on any medium by any technology including, but not limited to, electronic recording on tapes or discs in machinereadable form, and on photographic recording on microfiche. It also includes, if requested by registrants, electronic transmissions whereby registrants can print their own paper copies.

(c) After distribution of a portion of a master list, there can be supplementary distribution of a portion showing only changes from the previous one. However, if this is done, cumulative supplements must be distributed often enough that readers can find all the information given to them for any one crop year in no more than three distributions.

[51 FR 29451, Aug. 18, 1986, as amended at 61 FR 54728, Oct. 22, 1996]

§ 205.106 Farm products.

The farm products, according to which the master list must be organized as required by subsection (c)(2), and which must be identified on an EFS as required by subsection (c)(4)(D)(iv), must be specific commodities, species of livestock, and specific products of crops or livestock. The Section does not permit miscellaneous categories.

§ 205.107 Crop year.

(a) The crop year, according to which subsection (c)(2)(C)(ii)(IV) requires the master list to be arranged "within each such product," must be:

(1) For a crop grown in soil, the calendar year in which it is harvested or to be harvested;

(2) For animals, the calendar year in which they are born or acquired;

(3) For poultry or eggs, the calendar year in which they are sold or to be sold.

(b) An EFS or notice thereof which does not show crop year (the Section does not require it to do so) must be regarded as applicable to the crop or product in question for every year for which subsection (c)(4)(F) makes the EFS effective.

INTERPRETIVE OPINIONS

§ 205.201 System operator.

The system operator can be the Secretary of State of a State, or any designee of the State pursuant to its laws. Note that the provision in subsection (c)(2) for a system refers to operation by the Secretary of State of a State, but the definition in (c)(11) of "Secretary of State" includes "designee of the State."

§ 205.202 "Effective financing statement" or EFS.

(a) An EFS under subsection (c)(4) need not be the same as a financing statement or security agreement under the Uniform Commercial Code (or equivalent document under future successor State law), but can be an entirely separate document meeting the definition in (c)(4). Note that (c)(4) contains a comprehensive definition of the term which does not include any requirement that the EFS be the instru

ment by which a security interest is created or perfected. Note also the House Committee Report on Pub. L. 99198, No. 99-271, Part 1, September 13, 1985, at page 110: "[T]he bill would not preempt basic state-law rules on the creation, perfection, or priority of security interests."

(b) An EFS may be filed electronically provided a State allows electronic filing of financing statements without the signature of the debtor under applicable State law under provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code or may be a paper document. An electronically filed EFS need not be a paper document and need not be signed. If an original or reproduced paper document of an EFS is filed with the State, it must be signed by both the secured party and the debtor, and be filed by the secured party.

(c) Countermeasures against mishandling after filing, such as a requirement that a copy be date stamped and returned to the secured party, are discretionary with the State. If a State chooses to adopt such countermeasures, it is responsible for establishing procedures for recording the date and time when an EFS is received, and for meeting all legal requirements associated with filing and distributing information about security interests as required by § 205.101.

[51 FR 29451, Aug. 18, 1986, as amended at 61 FR 54728, Oct. 22, 1996]

§ 205.203 Place of filing EFS.

The place of filing an EFS is wherever State law requires, which need not be with the system operator so long as the system operator receives the information needed for the master list, including the information required in subsection (c)(4)(D). Note that the requirements in subsection (c)(4) for an EFS include the requirement that it be "filed with the Secretary of State," but the definition in (c)(11) of "Secretary of State" includes "designee of the State," and the requirements in (c)(2) for a system refer in (A) to filing with the system operator of "effective financing statements or notice of such financing statements." (emphasis added)